1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to a programmable fan fold mechanism and more particularly it relates to an apparatus and method for fan folding continuous paper in fan folds having a preselected fan fold length when the continuous paper is moved along a feed line from an upstream area to a folding area.
2. Description of Related Art.
In the processing or handling of business forms and related products from a continuous paper roll, there is often the need to direct the flow of the continuous roll into a fan folded or accordian-like stack. In fan folding machines of the prior art, this was accomplished by feeding the continuous roll at a constant speed through a pivotally mounted guide chute which had a discharge end which was mechanically oscillated to fan fold the continuous roll. Typically, the discharge end of the guide chute was coupled to a pivot arm or lever which in turn was attached to a cam gear which was rotated at a constant speed which in turn caused the discharge end to oscillate. In order to vary the speed and distance that the discharge end of the chute oscillated, it was necessary to manually change either the pivot arm or the cam gear. Manually changing the pivot arm or cam gear results in down time of the fan folding machine and also requires additional parts and labor which are expensive.